Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Going to College-What Do the Ads Say About It? & My Fave Back to School Ads

Walmart, 2009:

What do you think it says?

My observations:

1. Behold the purchasing power of moms, the obvious target in this ad. It appears that Dad's main responsibility might be to lift heavy objects or drive to the move-in. In this ad, he appears to be hanging out somewhere on campus grabbing a coffee at Java Joe's while Mom handles the emotional stuff. Let's hope he's not staring at co-eds. It's obvious, though, that Mom buys the stuff.

2. My children did not come running after me for one last hug. If only I had bought neon storage cubes for the rooms, perhaps they would have been loathe to see me go.

3. Apparently, dorm rooms are gigantical and very pristine looking. Still, the brightness and cleanliness of this room makes the daughter insecure.

4. Inexplicably, moms feel that buying coordinating pillows will help make everything all right. What happens when the roommate moves in with her not-so-coordinating Japanese anime themed stuff?

5. The moms will perfectly fold all towels and place them perfectly in drawers. Moms will make up the bed. So what is the kid doing?

Target, 2008--

Observations:

1. These two will end up killing each other before the first semester ends.

2. It was sly of Target to try to get matriculating freshmen to coordinate their rooms. ("We'll have to get it all at Target so that it will coordinate!")

3. Guys don't care if they coordinate. They don't even need sheets or seating. They just need food.

Finally, I'm leaving you with two of my favorite back to school commercials ever.

Although this one has been done to death, the final scene always makes me laugh.

This one is probably my favorite because it features Eddie Steeples of "My Name is Earl" and a great Spinners song. "Hand me down my walkin' cane; hand me down my hat. Hurry now, don't be late 'cause we ain't got time to chat." LOVE it!

19 comments:

Definitely all adds aimed at parents sending the FIRST child off to college. We just sent the third off and believe me, she came with the essentials but not a lot else...well, except for all those shoes she loves.

I notice they are not showing the big bruise on mom's hip that she received from smacking into the bed frame 14 times while trying to jam one more storage container under the too low bed all of which is necessary because the dorm closet holds 1/16 of a daughter's wardrobe. And they also don't show show dad putting away his wallet with disgust while shouting, 'I'm not buying one more thing!!!'

We recently moved two daughters into school, one into an apartment there, and may I just say there is nothing quite like carrying a 13 foot long sofa with only your 90 pound daughter to help out to clarify just how lovely the reality of move in day really is... I'd love to see a commercial like that...hey, I think maybe I'm on to something in the world of advertising.

You said all they need is FOOD... it's clear that your most recent one off to college is your son. Cupcake's first "home" (an apt) decor is far more coordinated than mine has ever been. Of course, she worked full time all summer and had most of that money to spend. Now the boy... he spent all his money on fixing up his car and all our money on food. : )

It is true that we guys need food. When i walk in the house and i smell food all is right with the world... of not there is obviously something very wrong and in need of my attention (like making dinner); however, in addition to food there are two other things we 'need', the first i will not speak of here - the other is sleep. I find there is nothing better after a good hardy meal than a nap! 8)

The commercial medium that is television is all about selling me something. And i tend to 'buy' right into it too... 8(

I've never seen that last one with RubberBand Man...funny....especially the alarm clock (sorry) WAHAHA!!

Great minds think alike. My Tuesday guest today is the other commercial you have from Staples. I too LOVE the final scene, AND also, ...."IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!!!" haha (except I need to get used to that alarm clock too.)

Smiling! You got it ALL right! These advertisers are out of their minds. Have they ever been in a dorm room? Mine was tiny! And forget color coordinating--college is expensive enough without spending a fortune on accessories.

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An avid blogger of Minutiae since 2006, I'm back in the saddle as of 2015.
I'm a Boomer who cares for her grand daughter and elderly mom. I like to run (see other blog at top of page) read, research my ancestry (see other blog) and crochet a tiny bit, mainly hats for my granddaughter that look like buckets on her head, not intentionally. I'm vegetarian and gluten free. Nice to meet you!